Tetralogy of Fallot: stent palliation or neonatal repair?

Surgical repair of Tetralogy of Fallot has excellent outcomes, with over 90% of patients alive at 30 years. The ideal time for surgical repair is between 3 and 11 months of age. However, the symptomatic neonate with Tetralogy of Fallot may require earlier intervention: either a palliative intervention (right ventricular outflow tract stent, ductal stent, balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty, or Blalock-Taussig shunt) followed by a surgical repair later on, or a complete surgical repair in the neonatal period. Indications for palliation include prematurity, complex anatomy, small pulmonary artery size, and comorbidities. Given that outcomes after right ventricular outflow tract stent palliation are particularly promising - there is low mortality and morbidity, and consistently increased oxygen saturations and increased pulmonary artery z-scores - it is now considered the first-line palliative option. Disadvantages of right ventricular outflow tract stenting include increased cardiopulmonary bypass time at later repair and the stent preventing pulmonary valve preservation. However, neonatal surgical repair is associated with increased short-term complications and hospital length of stay compared to staged repair. Both staged repair and primary repair appear to have similar long-term mortality and morbidity, but more evidence is needed assessing long-term outcomes for right ventricular outflow tract stent palliation patients.

Perioperative Echocardiography in the Adult With Congenital Heart Disease

Survival of patients with congenital heart disease has significantly improved over the last 2 decades, confronting interventionalists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, cardiologists, and intensivists with often unfamiliar complex pathophysiology in the perioperative setting. Aside from cardiac catheterization, echocardiography has become the main imaging modality in the hospitalized adult with congenital heart disease. The great variety of congenital lesions and their prior surgical management challenges practitioners to generate optimal imaging, reporting, and interpretation of these complex anatomic structures. Standardization of echocardiographic studies can not only provide significant benefits in the surveillance of these patients, but also facilitate understanding of pathophysiologic mechanism and assist clinical management in the perioperative setting. Knowledge in obtaining and interpreting uniform imaging protocols is essential for the perioperative clinician. In this publication, the authors review current international consensus recommendations on echocardiographic imaging of adults with congenital heart disease and describe the fundamental components by specific lesion. The authors will emphasize key aspects pertinent to the clinical management when imaging these patients in the perioperative setting. The goal of this review is to familiarize the perioperative physician on how to structure and standardize echocardiographic image acquisition of congenital heart disease anatomy for optimal clinical management.

A Review of Tetralogy of Fallot and Postoperative Management

This article discusses the anatomy and physiology of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and TOF variants. Indications for surgical repair, morbidity/mortalities, and surgical repair techniques are also reviewed. The article concludes with review of common postoperative complications and management strategies for arrhythmias, right ventricular dysfunction, low cardiac output, and residual defects.